Mock up invite!

   I really like this invite mock up for the "Let Them Eat Cake" party, its more fitting to the edgier youthful vibe I was feeling from the B'day girl. The simplicity of the layout leaves it looking mature and classy, while the bright pink curtains hint at a saucy burlesque performance about to go down, and the cursive/calligraphy and fancy swirls add a touch of... well, fancy. Hope she likes it!

Beer tasting blokes birthday

   I came across a beer tasting party on Hostess with the Mostess and think it may be the most awesome party idea for a bloke. Set up your bar or living room as a pub by removing the lounge and replacing it with bar tables and some stools. Get a handful of different types of beers, or even ask people to bring a six pack of their favourite beers and set up specialised stations for the different types; beer, ale, lager and the like. Serve pub food in miniature or in shots to keep everything easy to eat with one hand-- because the beer will be in the other! I could go into it further, but you should probably go look at the Hostess site to read the descriptions in the words of the two ladies who really did through one of these awesome parties!

 {Beer tasting birthday party}

{A pub inspired Brew Bash}

Let Them Eat Cake! Burlesque style...

   OK, I found out that the 21st is going to be held at a burlesque style bar and lounge, so I made some changes and here is the new board for the "let them eat cake" party.

 

   I went to the website for the bar and got my hands on some of their images--that's the top image on the board, one of the private areas. It seemed that she wanted more pink then I had originally planned so I took inspiration from this photo and pulled hot, bold pinks and sumptuous purples straight from it. The rest of the bar is heavily detailed with gold filigree and edges so gold is now the shiny metallic of choice and their needs to be something else to break up the candy floss girlyness, so I threw in some black as a non-pink that doesn't draw away from the chosen colour. Still going with a handfull of cakes, but only one will be full scale, a couple will be small and the others will be faux cakes--icing over foam blocks. I really like the new edgier style, less froo froo, and more funky.

Incredible Hulk Dip

   I just had a brainwave that I have to share, and I know that this is more of a note than a blog post, but my big idea I want to share is still in the works. But first, Incredible Hulk dip!! It came to me when I was pondering the reasons why there aren't more green corn chips out on the market, and it probably has something to do with the fact that people have a thing against food being the wrong colour to that which they perceive is the norm. Anyway, the concept is green corn chips and beetroot dip. Green for his skin and purple for his shorts! Green and purple are the hulks colours because he is a not-so-good-guy good guy, and all true superheros are in solid primary colours. But that was my brainwave, Hulk dip, and I'll get back to putting together tomorrows blog post!

Seven Deadly Sins Cupcakes

   I made these cupcakes for the 2009 Halloween party I had, but I wanted them to be a: based around a sin, and b: based around an alcohol. There was a lot of experimenting and I have to admit the beer/sloth cuppies were not that good, but it was an experience and they looked really cute!

   The sins are as follows, with their alcoholic partner:

• Gluttony--Creme de Cocao
• Lust--Chambord
• Wrath--Grand Marnier
• Pride--?*
• Greed--Butterscotch Schnapps
• Envy--Tequila
• Sloth--Honey Beer

   It was a real laugh asking everybody who would listen to me, what flavour or alcohol they thought best represented a sin and also the looks on peoples faces when I told them I had every intention of making beer flavoured cuppies. In the end I went with the following.

   Gluttony had a chocolate brownie base, moist chocolate cake spiked with Creme de Cocao, filled with rich chocolate fudge, frosted with chocolate mouse style cream and topped with dark chocolate shavings.

   Lust was red velvet cake with a raspberry and chambord filling, frosted with red tinted butter cream and topped with a Chambord soaked raspberry.

   Wrath was an orange and chili cake filled with Grand Marnier cream, topped with burnt meringue frosting, and sprinkled with orange zest sugar.

   Greed was caramel mud cake drizzled with Butterscotch Schnapps, a caramel center, frosted with triple gooey caramel layers and butter cream frosting with large gold dragees.

   Envy was a margarita cake with zesty lime and Tequila cream filling, frosted with a lime flavoured green butter cream and rimmed with sugar.

   And lastly, Sloth was a Honey Beer butter cake with beer spiked butter cream frosting and sprinkled with grey tinted sugar pearls. This would probably have been better if it was the only one I had to make, and I could put all my effort into them. Maybe next time I'll do a reduction with the beer and make the cake beer-y and the frosting honey-y...

   As I mentioned, they didn't all work out, but they were fun to come up with and try to execute, but I will never make a that many cuppies again! A dozen at least of each flavour and then I also did regular and mini cuppies. When I put them all on the table for photographing, they looked like small armies about to go to war...

     *Unfortunately, while writing this I have come to realise that I have completely forgotten what pride was. Once I do remember, I will update this post asap.

Bacon anyone?

   I really want to do a bacon menu for a guy's birthday party, so I scoured the interwebs and came up with a pretty comprehensive cocktail nibbles menu.

Appetizers
Bacon and Garlic Dip
Bacon Party Bread Sticks
Bacon Popcorn
Bacon and Cheddar Stuffed Mushrooms
Bacon Deviled Spinach Eggs

Entrees
Bacon Chili
Cheese and Bacon Cornbread
Bacon and Tomato Potato Skin Cups
Bacon Bowl BLT
Bacon-Cauliflower and Broccoli Salad
Bacon-Spinach Salad with Warm Dressing

Desserts
Maple Bacon Cupcakes w/ Maple Frosting
Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies w/ Maple Cinnamon Glaze
Chocolate Bacon
Bacon Candy
Candied Bacon Fudge
 
   I think that by the end of frying all that bacon, you wouldn't even want to go to the party let alone eat any of it! But I still think it would be a cool idea...




P.S.
   Apparently this beer is perfect with bacon: Schlenkerla Smokebeer.

Let Them Eat Cake!

   Yes, I know Marie Antoinette never said it, but it is one of the most famous historical non-quotes, and it has "cake" in it. Chloe of the enchanted forest rose cupcakes has a sister, and she is turning 21, and Chloe asked me to make a cake, but who really thinks my imagination is going to let go at just a cake... She seems to be a real girly girl, into pink, big sunnies, friends, and parties. Apparently she really likes Ilana's 13th Birthday I put together, so I started thinking of lots of pink but in a more grown up, less princess, more queen diva--in a good way! Originally thought of doing a whole crowns and gold with a more hot pink pink and black instead of brown, almost royal nightclub. But then I kept finding the most beautiful cake inspiration but couldn't not choose any. So I chose them all, and the "Let Them Eat Cake!" idea was born.

   I love the OTT lux Parisian girly theme of Marie Antoinette parties, but never had a chance to try to put one together. The colour pallet for this party had to be tweaked to suit the pink loving birthday girl, so I dropped the eggshell blue to the background and brought rose pink to the foreground as the main colour with blush pink, hot pink, buff cream, plum and a choice of antique gold or brushed silver as accent metal. Think layers of assorted fabrics in these colours with vases overflowing with feathers and flowers like roses, peonies, and hydrangea; candles in votives and on candelabrum; cakes on stands at different heights in different styles and colours; gold leaf; platters of desserts like assorted parfaits in 2.5 ounce shooters, mini tarts, mini cupcakes, mini brownies, cakepops, macaroons, triple dipped chocolate covered pretzel sticks, extravagantly iced sugar cookies, donuts, and a whopping pile of pink fairy floss; and, of course, pink Chambord spiked champagne.

  I am so excited about this theme idea, I even mocked up an invitation...

   I really hope the birthday girl likes this idea, because I want to put this together like I want to breath. I also hope the guest list will be more than a hand full of people because I think this idea's food lends itself to excess, the more piles of sugary treats the better!

Greyskull's 21st idea...

   July seems to be the big month for birthdays, lucky I was a June baby then... To bad here in the southern hemisphere its the middle of winter in July, because I found really good BBQ party ideas that would have been perfect for a guy. So, instead, I started thinking along the lines of a hunting lodge or cigar lounge type of theme to get that cozy--yet manly-- indoor feel with lots of warm appetizers and liquor. In the end, I came across a party on Hostess put together by Shannon of Boutilier Design for a guy named Jack for his 40th. It was a Jack Daniels party!

   I'm pretty sure the birthday boy's favourite liquor is Southern Comfort, so I would personally change it up, starting with going from black and bronze base colours to brown and gold with hints of black and cream. All the details are there and can be adjusted for most brands of alcohol pretty easily. The level of detail put into this party is spectacular starting from invites to their envelopes to luminaries and posters.

   For this party they set up a simple photo booth with a couple of props for guests to take comical shots. A frame from the op shop, some faux mustaches, and a black board speech bubble or two with chalk for the subjects to write their messages on, is a fun way to add childish humour to these special photographic mementos.

   This style of party would be perfect in a club lounge or in a cellar, but really, you could do it anywhere. I am completely in love with the rich masculine theme, and can't wait to try it out. I'm thinking a bacon theme for the food? Maple bacon cupcakes...?

 {want the recipe?}

Spiderman to the rescue!

   Lets get cracking, shall we? Spiderman. Going into this I would have sworn that throwing a Spiderman party would have been easier than a Superhero party. Shockingly, it is very much harder, what with the abundance of Spiderman merchandising. It all ends up being very commercial and not at all as appealing as the classic colours and iconic figure should be to a party theme...

 {spiderman decal}

   Starting with cakes of course, preferably cupcakes. The simple style of the Spiderman lends itself to the cupcake in one way. There is one basic cupcake/Spiderman formula and it works. Cake--what ever flavour you like, I wonder if red velvet would work?--blue frosting, red spidey mask topper. Its perfect, and all the other options are either limp or require a spidey/Venom standoff, and I have to say, villains don't go on the cute cupcakes unless its that kinda party. I did find an incredibly simple cupcake design which was white frosting with a black--maybe chocolate--web piped, set and then placed on top. Very classy, but bordering on Halloween so there needs to be something Spiderman close by. Try red and blue frosting with white chocolate webs?

{these web slinging cuppies are from Clever Cupcakes, Cupcake DD, and Jennyvier}

   For a candle cake I would personally love the mad hatter style cake with red, turquoise, white and black but that would definitely require marzipan. I like the simplicity of just the face, and it could be done with good ol' butter cream frosting smoothed out with a knife and then black lines piped on. The eyes could be more piped icing smoothed out or royal icing piped onto a baking sheet, left to harden and then placed on top. Or somewhere in between with a possible marzipan or smoothed frosting option surrounded by buildings. The buildings could be made out of marzipan again or they could be piped from royal icing or cut from died chocolate. There is an option for any skill set!

{snazzy spidercakes from here, Cupcake Sisters, and Decaf Please}

   Food for a Spiderman theme is similar to the superhero theme, with Peter Parker delivered mini pizzas from "Joe's Pizza", "Doc Ock Dogs" made by splitting the ends into eight sections--when they're boiled the ends curl up like tentacles--, "Green Goblin Pumpkin Balls" made by colouring popcorn orange, and "Sandman Power Mix" which is just trail mix in sandy colours. For drinks I found two fun and easy options of "Super Power Punch" made by mixing fruit punch with sprite for fizz, and "Green Goblin Juice" made from lemonade and ginger ale with Pop Rocks.


   Sugar? Why yes sir, I do believe I shall. Sugar cookies are a good start for any party and ovals can easily be turned into spidey faces, while circles can be spider webs or plain colour with a spider. "Spidey Webs" can be made of shoestring liquorice in red and black. Marshmallows dipped in red and blue candy melts with a corresponding mnm on top. Cakepops can be coated in the classic spidey colour scheme and even piped with white webbing. Any other store bought candy in red and blue on mass will add instant drama when put into glass vases and apothecary jars.

 {sorry, this image is AWOL and a Blissfull nest}

   Red and blue balloons are a great way to add a heap of colour to a room without much effort, but to make sure, use red or blue tablecloths with a large plate in one colour--not the same as the tablecloth--and then a smaller plate on top to match the table. White napkins are easy to find, but if your party is around Halloween it should be easy to find spiderweb napkins to use instead. Webs from Halloween are a cheap way to make it look like Spideys been by, just scatter plastic spiders everywhere for a finishing touch--also works with one of the games I found. If you have any Spiderman toys they can be utilized for decorations on the buffet, candy, cake, or sit down tables.

{direct from a Blissfull nest}

   Activities! Boy did I come up with the mother load... I'll put it in a list to make it a little more legible. But first start the party by having each kid get their face painted into a spidey mask!

• Spiderman Pinata--Venom's head is a nice balloon like shape... 

• Super Hero Lungs--This is an easy one. The kids get the balloons and when you say "go" they start blowing them up. The player/s who pop they're balloons loose, and the kid with the biggest balloon by the time you say "stop" wins!

•  Pin the Spider on the Web--Paint a web onto a large board and print out Spiderman spiders onto sticker sheets. Cut out the spider stickers and hand them out to the kids at the party and proceed as if it were pin the tail on the donkey.

• Venom Tag--Any villain is good for this game. A great way to burn off all that sugar and hyper happiness. Select a villain from unsuspecting family members or from the kids. Once a kid is tagged, they become it and so on. Remember to section off a safe zone for kids to rest when they get pooped, this could be named "Aunt May's House".

• Sandman Dig--This only works if you have a sandbox. Bury prizes in the sand and hand out shovels or let them use their hands to dig for treasures.

• Spiderman Winner. Get the kids to choose a "pumpkin ball" and on the count of three they sit on them until they pop. The kids with a winning ticket get a prize!

• Spider Web Walk--Kind of like musical chairs. Cut circles out of cardboard and paint them with spidey webs. In the center of each circle write a big number. Place them around in a circle. Play the Spiderman theme song and have the kids step from web to web. When the music stops, draw a number out of a hat and the child standing on that number wins.

• Peter Parker's Mad Science Lab--Use the below recipes to make "Goop" or "Flubber" in the kitchen. This activity relies heavily on acceptance of mess.

Goop
1 cup of corn starch
1/4 to 1/3 cup of water
paper cups

Flubber
1 1/2 C. Warm Water
2 c. Elmer's Glue & Food Coloring Solution
4 tsp. Borax
1 1/3 C. Warm water Mix
Mix the first two ingredients then the second two separately.
Then pour them together - do not stir.

• Spider Catch--The scattered spiders come into play here. Hide a few around the house for this game to be a little trickier. Explain to the kids that some spiders have gotten loose from the research lab. Instruct the party guests to hunt them down and collect the spiders.

• Spider Wed Escape--Have all the guests assemble in a circle. Have each of them extend their right hand into the circle and grab the hand of another guest. Have them extend their left hand into the circle and grab the hand of someone else. Explain to them that they are now apart of a human spider web and must escape the web without letting go!

• A crafty table is a good way to keep the quieter kids amused with printouts of a "Web Maze" and colouring sheets.

{maze and colouring in}

 

{face painting}

 {party favours}

   The idea for invitations is similar to the superhero invites, just more red and blue, spiders and webs. Again, most of them can be mocked up on the computer and printed out at home, but some enterprising mothers have gone all out with their scrap booking/stamping and done multi-layered card invites with webbing stamped on and string threaded through a picture of the man himself. I still prefer the newspaper invite though...

 {courtesy of Paper and Thread Studio, Spiderman Invitations, Hand Stamped, and Leslie Designs Stuff}



   Well, that's all for Spidey, I hope you enjoy the rivalry of Superhero vs Spiderman, and don't forget to leave a comment to say which you like better! Remember, there's a mum out there who will have to make the final choice and I do not envy her that decision...


P.S.
   The words to the theme song? Oh yeah:


Spider-man, Spider-man
Does whatever a spider can
Spins a web, any size
Catches thieves, just like flies
Look out! Here comes the Spider-man!

Is he strong? Listen, Bud!
He's got radioactive blood.
Can he swing from a thread?
Take a look overhead.
Hey there, there goes the Spider-man!

In the chill of night,
At the scene of the crime
Like a streak of light
He arrives just in time

Spider-man, Spider-man
Friendly neighborhood Spider-man
Wealth and fame, he's ignored
Action is his reward

To him, life is a great big bang-up
Wherever there's a hang-up
You'll find the Spider-man!

Chloe's enchanted forest cupcakes

   OK, I wasn't going to do a post today because I really wanted to go straight to Spiderman, but I'm to wiped after the Superhero post to do another huge one. But I can't help feeling guilty, so here is a mini post for you...

   Chloe is a friend of mine who I used to work with and while we were working together, she turned 18. I may, or may not have gotten excited instantly... In the end I decided on trying out a piping technique I had been studying on YouTube that turned regular cuppies into roses! With the idea firmly planted in my head to do roses, and the birthday girl's favourite colour being purple, I then worked it up a bit till I ended up with an enchanted forest theme. A plain black wire stand and some branches of beads and crystals in matching black and I had an awesome base for my rose garden.

   I was so happy with these and roses turned out to be so easy, just gotta relax and not freak out at the slightest bump. These were the first cuppies I went a bit over the top with the sparkles, but I still think they could have used more! The first one I finished icing was paraded around the house for a good half hour, I was that proud...

   That's all, I'll get back to Spiderman on the morrow!

P.S.

   Just one more, this was the first, the one that was paraded...

BAM! Its a superhero party!

   So, you want to through a superhero party do you? Well that's an awesome idea! Funnily enough I have collated a Kryptonian bucket load of things for you to do...

{courtesy of OCP}

    First, where do we start...? Cake of course! I have a few options that would knock the socks off the Hulk himself.

 {these are from Wants and Wishes, Anders Ruff, thatsawrap2 on Etsy,}

{Jabaya's profile on photobucket, 4GoodnessCake , and Sugar Siren}

   As you can see you can take the easy/lazy route and get yourself some snazzy cupcake wrappers and toppers, or you can make/buy marzipan superhero logos to put on top of the expertly piped cakes. If you wanted the cool assortment of hero power without the effort or price tag of crafted marzipan, you could print out the logos onto a glossy card stock--you might need to back them with foil or baking paper to stop any grease seeping through and ruining the image.

   I personally like the cakes from here, but I would want to make the Superman cakes vanilla with red frosting, the Batman cakes chocolate with the same grey frosting, and Spiderman red velvet with blue frosting. Because I'm a fan of "BAM!"s and "POW!"s I would want to through in a couple of those cakes from here, just to cover all the bases--you could even make them a surprisingly zesty lemon cake for extra punch.

{this league of sugary justice comes from love the day, OCP, 4GoodnessCake, and Hostess}

   From simple to down right challenging, there is a cake for every caped crusader. If I were to do the coloured cake, I would probably only do red, blue and yellow, otherwise it just looks like a rainbow cake. The simple butter yellow cake with toppers would be the perfect exterior for such a colourful surprise. If you wanted to go with the smooth professionalism of marzipan, the Superman cake with spidey web base is an easy amalgam of heroes but I prefer the last cake with its classy Lichtenstein dots and simple city cutouts. For the purpose of matching the candle cake to the cupcakes, I am leaning heavily towards the red, blue and yellow interior cake surrounded by the more intricate superlogo cupcakes.

{an assortment of food ideas from hero subs, healthy buffet and wonder dog, Kryptonite, popcorn, and jelly cubes}

    To feed the aspiring superheroes you need super food, so what about "Hero" sandwiches, "Wonder Dog" hot dogs, Peter Parker delivered "Joe's Pizza" mini pizzas, Superman's "Kryptonite" green rock candy, "Green Goblin's Guacamole" with orange corn chips, and/or "Holy Macaroni!" macaroni and cheese. I have to say I love the idea of a healthy buffet of fruits and veggies labeled with things like "Improves X-Ray Vision" to try and trick the kids into eating more than just sugar, but little cubes of jelly and red and blue coloured popcorn keep the super colours alive. By mixing Pop Rocks into the drinks, they will come to life with their own Kapow!

   For the sugary side of things--otherwise known as CANDY-- why not make sugar cookies in the shape of lightning bolts, bats or diamond shapes, using icing to add any other features like superlogos. Keep the shapes simple by making circles or stars and then icing BAM! and KAPOW! onto them. wrap a few in a cellophane bag and attach a label calling them "Power Cookies". Cakepops are easy to make and accessorize to match the theme of any party--and lets face it, everybody loves to eat 'em--so why not make some in red, blue and yellow, or plain white with coloured sprinkles? MnMs are the easiest way to add a splash of colour to a table and if you're lucky enough to need a couple kilos, you can buy special order colours from the website. If you're like me, then you buy lots of bags and eat all the colours that aren't required...

{porcelain v plastic}

   If the company--cb2--that originally sold those amazing pop art appetizer plates still stocked them I would own a full set and would rave about them to anybody who would listen. Unfortunately, they are out of stock, and have been for some time, so unless you really do know Superman and can get him to fly backwards around the world a few times, they may not be a viable item at your next super party. Luckily, plastic comes in many colours, and you can mix 'n' match till your hearts content.

 {from OCP}

{and Birthday Direct}

   For other decorations like banners and flags why not use comics or copies of comics, cut them out into triangles and sew them onto a length of ribbon to drape around your room or over the table. A fun table 'cloth' I found is actually a plastic tablecloth, white with black doodles all over it so kids can use markers to play naughts and crosses or join the dots or simply colour in the pictures. A cityscape is easy to make out of cardboard as a backdrop for your dessert table or buffet, simply paint it black and use tape to add windows. Keeping it simple with the Protector of the Innocent and the American Way is booth cheap and easy. Tablecloth, plates, cutlery, cups, streamers, balloons; all can be matched in the red, blue and yellow colour theme. By adding small details like masked and caped drink bottles and using cheap masks as napkin rings no supervillain will even think to set foot into your Hall of Justice.

 {bingo cards from Collecting the Moments}

 {I'm sorry, I can't find out where these came from...}

   Now it comes down to games and other entertainment ideas. Why not nominate an unlucky, high energy family member to dress up as a supervillain for a game of supertag? Or set up a treasure hunt to help Superman, with green painted rocks for Kryptonite and foil covered boxes--lead lined to hold in all that radiation--for the kids to collect the nasty stuff in? A villain beanbag toss is easy to set up with print outs of supervillians placed in the bottom of a few baskets or boxes and lined up against a wall or on a series of chairs for kids to through the corresponding superhero beanbag at. Make the beanbags out of cheap material with an iron on transfer of the superheros and fill with barley. Or you could go all in with villain balloons staked around the yard. Stick a villain on each balloon and hand out Nerf guns for the kids to have an epic battle.

{from Anders Ruff, momdesigner, Maddycakes Muse, and love the day}

   By setting up a phone booth, your aspiring superheros can change into their supercostumes for the party. Just use a couple of moving boxes or one big fridge box and cut it up and paint it red. If you don't want to get full costumes then why not just masks and capes? They're easy to make and the materials you can use for them are pretty cheap. With all these costumes, you want some photos to commemorate the occasion, right? So a photo booth is required! A simple silhouette cityscape painted onto a large cardboard sheet, some sound cards with BAM! and POW! and a camera, easy peesy. If you have a printer handy it would be a neat thing to give each child to take home if you printed out their photo and put it into a comic frame--another easy thing to make with a cheap frame from Ikea with a comic page pasted over it.

 {Super P's invites from Anders Ruff}

{Brady's invites from Paper and Thread Studio}

   Last and yet the first thing to be made/bought, is INVITES. Comic strip themed seems to be the common theme, and seriously, why mess with a good thing! They're all easy to make and are simple card printable at home, I believe there are even templates online you can use to make them if your really stuck for inspiration.

   I hope this has at least set you on the right track for an earth shattering Super Hero party. Next up: Spiderman!

Superhero/Spiderman Conundrum...

   A friend of my mums has a little boy who likes superheroes, Spiderman in particular. As soon as I heard the words "superhero" and "6 year old birthday", I was hooked and immediately left the conversation and disappeared into my head with a stupid grin on my face. After coming up with half a dozen really fun ideas I actually had a think about it in a more logical fashion. Do I go "Superhero!" with red, yellow and blue; or "Spiderman!" with red, blue and white? There are far more commercial products to buy for the everyday K-Mart Spiderman party, but there is so much more you can do with the general superhero theme...

 {Spiderman tablescape}

{Superhero tablescape}

   In the end I'm going to go out of my way to create two options for the lucky mum, and she can have the difficult task of deciding. I'm going to also split up these two ideas so instead of one giant post, I'll put it in a Superhero post and a Spiderman post and you can leave a comment on the one you like best!

P.S.
   The Spiderman image is curtesy of squidoo, and  the superhero image is from Frosted Events.

Double choc brownie cupcakes

   I may have mentioned a time or two that I love cupcakes... While going through my photos I found these. Double choc brownie cupcakes with vanilla frosting. I don't even remember when I made these, but gosh darn it, they tasted good!

{I love this Ikea cake stand}

   At some point I had the amazing idea of putting a half inch of brownie mix in the bottom of the cupcake and then topping it up with my very best chocolate cake recipe. Everybody was blown away by the awesomeness, although there was--and still is--some in fighting about how much is the correct amount of brownie to cake ratio. Seeing as how there was already quite a lot of strong chocolate going on, I frosted them in the lightest coating of plain vanilla butter cream frosting and had heaps of fun piping chocolate into little swirls for the top.

   Well, that's pretty much all I can write this late on a Saturday night, hopefully I won't go too many days without posting something. I'll leave you with a cupcake close up...